Rule #13 Take Accountability. Stop Whining! Go Read a Book already.

"You will get what you want, when you stop making

excuses on why you don’t have it."  - Unknown

Rule 13 is part rant, part rule.

A lot of people are lazy about money. They'd rather watch The Simpsons or Mad Men than figure out a way to make their lives better.  Thats fine with me but there is one nagging thing that I can't stand about many of these folks.... I've had it with their whining!  "My life is lousy, I can't get ahead, The Man is keeping me down, There is no way out!"  This is pure bullshit.  There are many things most people can do, but will they actually do it?  In many cases, no.

Jim Rohn is credited with saying "Poor people have big TVs, Rich people have big Libraries." I love this saying. I think it epitomizes a major problem in society these days.  Its not that people don't know what to do with their money to make their lives better, its that the don't want to know, and that they would rather spend their free time doing things that rot their brain instead of making their life better through gaining knowledge.  There are plenty of free resources on the web or at the library to educate ones self in basic money management or investing, but the it seems people don't seek them out.  My iPod is full of e-books and audiobooks on economics, time management, and finances.  Its also full of more light-hearted stuff just so you know.  I think part of this attitude is due to the fact that many people do not want to make the sacrifices needed to get ahead, so the bury their head or make excuses for not opening a book or asking for help.  Financial Success does not come quickly and generally does not come easily.  It also doesn't happen if you lack the knowledge and rely on dumb luck to help you make it through life.  80% of North American millionaires are self-made, and they got there because of knowledge, and hard work, not because they are any more special than you or I, or because they had rich parents.  They didn't buy into the mantra that someone else should make their life better.  They had the ambition to learn what it took and then went for it.

I'm not suggesting you need to manage your investments yourself or go start a business, or that you shouldnt get help to set up a proper portfolio or debt management plan, just that you need to be engaged with your own money and take steps to make your life better financially.  There is loads and loads of free knowledge out there waiting for you to learn it.  If you need help learning something, ask for help.  If you don't understand what company stock is, Google it.  Don't just sit there saying "My financial IQ sucks so I am screwed!"

Here are some books I recommend if you are looking to get acquainted with saving and investing money, or understanding how the economy works:
Stop Working by Derek Foster
The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko
Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan and Burton Malkiel

None of the books are a financial silver bullet, but they will get you thinking about money, if you aren't already doing that, its a good start.  I like all of these books because they are easy to read and they take the jargon out of finances, economics and investing.  I have either found them at the library or borrowed them from friends for free.  I'd start with Stanley and Danko first if you are just starting to think about money.  Happy reading.

Rule #2 "Lotteries are taxes on the stupid"

Rule #2 is pretty straight forward.  We don't play the lottery or do any other gambling where the odds are not stacked in our favour (and none are).

I played the lottery once about 14 years ago. It was one of those deals where someone from the office went around and convinced everyone to chip in a buck and then he went and bought a bunch of tickets for the department and if we won the Lotto 6/49 we would split the pot.  I quickly forgot about it, and then next week this person came around and asked me for another dollar.  "Is this going to be a regular thing?" I asked. "Yes! Now that we have our numbers picked, we have to keep playing them or someone else might take our winnings."  I decided there and then that I would cut my losses and not participate in the weekly Lotto pooling.  Being a numbers guy, I was keenly aware of the odds of winning the big pot of the Lottos 6/49 are low - 1 in 14 millions or so - so low that its like pissing money away... and if I am going to piss money away, I might as well do it drinking beer with buddies instead.  I at least see value in the socialising that goes along with the beer drinking.

Some polling shows that in some demographic groups of Canadians, 30+% expect a lottery win to fund their retirement.  This is shocking.  And the government is an accomplice to this ridiculousness.... it puts out all these advertisements that prey on people's fantasies of getting rich without having to work or save for it.  Sure, "Dream of all the stuff you could buy with $50 million dollars.... Every week somebody gets a big cheque and all they had to do was buy a ticket... This week it could be you!"   Approximately half of 6/49 revenue is returned to winners and the other half goes to the government... and its not unreasonable to think that some of that money goes to support people who haven't looked after themselves, because they were too busy buying lottery tickets instead of saving their money!

I view lottery tickets, and gambling in general, as "Taxes on the Stupid", or perhaps "ill-informed" would be a more PC way of describing it.  It sounds harsh but I believe it to be true...  If you remind yourself what the odds really are its baffling that people play it at all.  I did a quick calculation and here is an interesting way to look at it:  If a person played once a week from age 20 to age 80, that person would have to play 4500 lifetimes before the odds would go in your favour... and then when you did win, you would only get half of your money back.  Thats right, 4500 lifetimes... Amazing!

I don't want to tell people how to spend their money, and if they are truly doing it because they get a rush out of the beyond-longshot chance they might win, good for them.  But if people think the lottery is going to fund their retirement, they need a good shake.